What Does a PR Firm Actually Do? A Modern Perspective

Media events are a proven way to help creators experience your story.

If you asked five different PR professionals to define public relations, you'd probably get five different answers. Here's mine: PR helps a person, a business, or a brand tell their story in a way that creates a real connection with the people consuming it — whether that's a magazine article, a TV segment, or an Instagram reel. And it's not just press releases.

What you're really looking for in a PR professional is someone who can figure out what makes your story compelling, then get it in front of whoever has a megaphone. Journalists. News anchors. Content creators. Anyone who can put your brand in front of an audience that doesn't know you yet.

What Does Success with PR Actually Look Like?

This needs to be established at the very beginning of any engagement.

"I want more traffic to my website" is a measurable goal. "I want to grow my social following" is a measurable goal. Those targets shape strategy and give you something real to track. When coverage comes in, a good PR person doesn't just send you a link and call it a day. They explain why it matters. Getting into a national food publication is exciting…but if FIFA is coming to Seattle and you're trying to attract out-of-town visitors to your restaurant, that context is what connects the coverage to your actual business objective. Then you check your Google Analytics, your reservations, your foot traffic, and you see whether it moved the needle.

A lot of PR work also happens quietly behind the scenes. You may not see the conversations with editors, the relationship-building with a freelancer who's the right fit for a story six months from now, or the pivoting when a pitch angle isn't landing. Check in with your PR person and ask what the reception from media has been. A good PR professional should be nimble and communicative, never just waiting to see what happens.

More Than Just Media: The Many Hats

People are sometimes surprised by how many roles a PR engagement actually touches.

Business coach. Sometimes the most valuable thing I do in a first meeting has nothing to do with media. It's helping a client articulate why their business matters - sharpening the value proposition until it's actually sayable in a 30-second conversation.

Spokesperson trainer and cheerleader. Going on live television to do a cooking segment is terrifying. It's not just you up there - it's your business, your livelihood, everything you've built. My job before anyone gets in front of a microphone is to help them know they belong there. We rehearse, watch recordings back, and work on the small things that distract viewers. The whole time, I'm reinforcing that they're improving and that they're ready.

Event planner. Media dinners, grand openings, press previews…if there's an event designed to generate coverage or build relationships, there's usually a PR person running logistics behind it.

Relationship builder and repair person. Not every story goes perfectly. Part of this work is being the calm intermediary when coverage isn't what a client hoped for…talking them through their reaction, figuring out what can be salvaged, and keeping the door open for future opportunities.

It Starts with Getting the Right People in the Room

The most important first step is a kickoff meeting where I listen. What makes the people behind this business inspired? Why does this brand need to exist? And just as importantly: why would someone care?

A lot of businesses don't immediately know how to answer those questions. Not because the story isn't there, but because they're too close to it. They can't always see what an outsider sees.

Take a fourth-generation cidery. The family has poured generations of love and craft into their product, but cider is quietly consolidating across the country. The independent producer with 80 years of family history has something no corporate brand can replicate -  they just don't see it yet. After sitting down and hearing the anecdotes, that's when the story comes alive. Suddenly there are multiple angles: one for younger cider fans, one for the beer or wine drinker moderating their intake, a farm-to-table experience for content creators. Same business, same product, very different audiences.

Building a Plan: Timing Is Everything

Once the story is clear, the first question is: when do you want visibility, and is the business ready for it?

PR coverage works best as series of waves, not a single splash. A concentrated burst of attention is exciting but fades quickly. What actually moves the needle is a sustained rhythm that keeps bringing new eyes to your business over time. Building that wave takes planning and honesty about what the business is actually ready for - ncluding whether the right spokesperson is prepared and available.

Getting Media Interested: Quality Over Quantity

Here's something that surprises a lot of people: I write maybe one or two press releases a year.

The old model (blanket a press release to 50 reporters and hope someone bites) doesn't work. PR is about relationships, and relationships require knowing who you're talking to.

I think of media outreach like setting a table for a dinner party. I need to know my client's vibe, their story, their audience. And I need to think just as carefully about what the reporter on the other side of the pitch actually cares about. If a neighborhood restaurant is opening outside Seattle, I'm not sending a mass email. I'm reaching out to the specific reporter who covers that beat, with a pitch tailored to her readers. That specificity is what gets responses - and coverage that actually delivers.

The same principle applies to social media and content creators. The format changes (it has to be visual, it has to be experiential), but the reason is the same: you're creating a story their audience genuinely wants to consume. I started this career sending pitches by fax machine. The platforms evolve, the fundamentals don't.